『 "How lucky~" Loki said, tilting his head with a touch of helplessness. Then, his figure, along with the Tesseract, vanished on the spot.
As for where he teleported to, who knows? Escape first, ask questions later!
"F***!" Tony scrambled up from the ground. Seeing Loki disappear with the Tesseract, he was instantly consumed by rage!
The disappearance of the Tesseract meant that everything they had done would be in vain!
Without all the Infinity Stones, they couldn't unleash their true power!
And they only had one shot at this!
Ant-Man roared in anger, "We only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip! Do you guys realize this was our last chance?!"
Tony and Steve frowned, speechless for a long moment. But right then, Tony suddenly thought of something and cut Ant-Man off.
He thought of a place where they could not only find the Tesseract but also get more Pym Particles!
Tony handed the Scepter to Ant-Man, while he and Steve went back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in 1970. The two split up: Steve was in charge of the Pym Particles, while Tony searched for the Tesseract.
Though the journey was a bit winding, everything went smoothly in the end. Tony got to have a final farewell with his father from this era.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Thor and Rocket Raccoon had arrived in Asgard in 2013. They slipped right past Loki, who was locked in his cell.
Their target was Jane, who was currently possessed by the Reality Stone, so they could extract the stone from her body!
But just then, the sound of women conversing drifted over. Thor froze instantly, then looked toward the source of the sound in disbelief.
That was his… mother!
Thor could barely control the trembling of his body, because today… was the very day his mother would be killed by the Dark Elves!
Thor was in absolute agony. Trembling, he looked at Rocket beside him, wanting to back out… but Rocket slapped him across the face!
Rocket stared coldly at Thor, making it clear to him that everyone had lost loved ones. Some people's loved ones were never coming back, but some people's could!
"If you don't pull yourself together, then… really nothing can be saved." A dangerous glint flashed in Rocket's eyes!
This slap snapped Thor out of it. Yes… Yes, he wasn't the only one with family. Half of all life in the universe that had vanished also had families.
But in the end, Thor still couldn't let go of his mother. Just as Thor turned around, a familiar face appeared right before his eyes!
It turned out Thor's mother had heard them long ago. Looking at the weathered, exhausted, and pained Thor before her, her heart ached, and she gently patted his head.
She could tell this was the Thor of the future, and for Thor to come here, he must have a mission of his own!
Thor wanted to say more, but his mother cut him off, "Thor, you are here to fix your future, not mine."
She could tell from Thor's hesitant, longing gaze that her future self must have met with disaster, but that was already unchangeable.
By this time, Rocket had also retrieved the item and arrived before them.
Thor's mother didn't say much more to Thor. They shared a hug and quickly departed. Before leaving, Thor reached out his hand and summoned the Mjolnir of this timeline.
"Ha! I knew it, still fits perfectly!" 』
『 .....』
〜Marvel Cinematic Universe, Earth-????〜
The Avengers all looked at Thor with expressions that said,
"Seriously, we've had it with you."
If he took the Mjolnir from this timeline, wouldn't the Thor here go through a period without his hammer?
How was the Thor of this timeline supposed to fight then? You have to know that half of Thor's strength lay in his hammer!
Screwing over your own self? Fine, fine, be a decent person for once, Thor!
—
『 Meanwhile, on the other side, Nebula and Rhodey successfully obtained the Power Stone. But just as the two were about to head back, Nebula suddenly clutched her head in agonizing pain!
Rhodey's brow furrowed, a sense of unease washing over him.
Could it be…
Sure enough, Nebula had somehow connected with the Nebula of this timeline!
At this point in time, they weren't the only ones searching for the Infinity Stones.
THEIR ULTIMATE ENEMY WAS ALSO HERE… THANOS!!!
Thanos's brow furrowed deeply. He brought Nebula onto his main ship and ordered Ebony Maw to extract the memories of the linked Nebula!
Which meant the memories of the future!
"…The Avengers," Thanos took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in his heart. After seeing everything in the future, he felt like he was nothing but a joke!
The grand design he had spent his entire life to accomplish was actually going to be so easily undone by the Avengers?
He wiped out half of all life in the universe. The Avengers couldn't beat him, so they traveled back in time, gathered the stones again, and then traveled back to save the world.
Once Thanos figured out the logical connection, he couldn't help but sneer. He swiftly ordered his forces to head to the location of the future Nebula and then had her captured!
The Pym Particles on the future Nebula were also seized by Thanos!
After a moment of thought, Thanos imprisoned the future Nebula there and sent the past Nebula to Rhodey's side to return to Earth with him!
Meanwhile, to obtain the Soul Stone, Hawkeye and Natasha Romanoff had to trade one of their souls. Both chose to sacrifice themselves, but in the end, Hawkeye survived.
He woke up in a pool of water, looking at the red stone in his hand, and then at the empty space beside him. He couldn't help but weep bitterly!
The mission was a success, but the Avengers had lost Natasha Romanoff forever…
The team quickly gathered, not daring to waste a single second. Tony swiftly crafted an Infinity Gauntlet and embedded the six Infinity Stones into it! 』
『 .....』
〜Myriad Worlds livestream Chat〜
[ Kakarot (Dragon Ball): "Ah, now that they're all gathered, is it time to summon Shenron?" ]
[ Bulma (Dragon Ball): "Idiot! Look closely, those are stones, not Dragon Balls!" ]
[ Deadpool (Earth-10005): "Maybe it's Aladdin's magic lamp~" ]
[ Jade Chan (Jackie Chan Adventures): "It feels kind of similar to the Talismans. They both seal power inside a container, and whoever wields it can use its power. Though the Infinity Stones seem a bit more powerful than the Talismans?" ]
[ .....]
〜Marvel Cinematic Universe, Earth-????〜
The Infinity Gauntlet… Various powerful entities fell into deep thought. In the infinite multiverse, the Infinity Stones were already rare treasures. If it were the Infinity Gauntlet…
As far as they knew, the highest tier of power was the Infinity Gauntlet under the Jim Starlin system before it was weakened by the Living Tribunal.
That was an ultimate power that could stand on equal footing with Eternity, the embodiment of a single universe!
In fact… Thanos's power, when boosted by the Infinity Gauntlet, might have even surpassed Eternity. The Goddess once used over 30 Cosmic Cubes to form the Cosmic Egg.
That power was enough to destroy the entire multiverse, but even so, she still believed her Cosmic Egg was inferior to the Infinity Stones!
And though the Infinity Stones in other multiverses weren't as strong as that one, they still possessed descriptions of destroying the multiverse and demonstrations of creating multiverses!
As for why Thanos here only destroyed half of the universe instead of destroying the entire multiverse and then creating a new multiverse according to his own will…
No one knew what was going on in Thanos's brain.
Could it be because Thanos couldn't withstand the backlash of the Infinity Stones? No, impossible. Could an Eternal created by the Celestials not withstand that?
Then it could only be said that Thanos's brain wasn't working too well. A major villain who stood at the forefront of everyone else, thinking about the future of the universe?
—
『 Viewers of Myriad Worlds 』
Everyone also looked at the screen with curiosity at the Infinity Gauntlet.
This was the Infinity Gauntlet?
The gauntlet that combined Mind, Space, Power, Time, Reality, and Soul?
The one treated as paperweight trash by the Time Variance Authority?
Based on first impressions, everyone didn't feel much for this Infinity Gauntlet, and were even surprised how something that was a dime a dozen in the Time Variance Authority could destroy half of a universe!
But soon, everyone figured it out. Just because something was common in the Time Variance Authority didn't mean its value was low; it only proved how powerful the Time Variance Authority was, and how dangerous this item was!
Otherwise, why would the Time Variance Authority bring the Infinity Stones to a place where magic couldn't be used?
The Infinity Gauntlet was definitely powerful!
But everyone still underestimated just how powerful the Infinity Gauntlet was!
.....
『 As the six stones were embedded simultaneously, a terrifying surge of energy erupted. But a new question arose.
Who would… snap their fingers!
In other words, who would bear the backlash of the Infinity Gauntlet?
Thor volunteered, but Banner shook his head. Whoever snapped this gauntlet would die; no one but him could complete this task.
The primary radiation of the Infinity Stones was gamma, making him the most suitable candidate!
"Remember, the people killed by Thanos five years ago, you can only bring them back to today. Don't change anything about the past five years," Iron Man cautioned.
Hulk nodded, then slowly put the Infinity Gauntlet on his hand. Instantly, an invisible force enveloped him, and Hulk felt a terrifying pressure slam into his arm!
That terrifying power even brought him to his knees, his entire body trembling violently!
His right arm began to burn fiercely!
"ARGHHHHHHH!" Hulk roared, putting in every ounce of his strength. Finally, at the cost of one arm, he snapped his fingers!
Did it work?!! Everyone was anxious and uncertain, but soon, with news coming in from all over the world, THEY REALIZED… THEY HAD SUCCEEDED!!!
THEY HAD SUCCESSFULLY SAVED HALF OF THE POPULATION IN THE UNIVERSE!!!
But just as everyone was celebrating, a massive starship suddenly appeared in the sky above, followed by a torrential rain of missiles pouring down upon them!
In an instant, the entire Avengers base was turned to ruins!
"What's going on…?!" Tony looked at the ship in the sky in shock. He could never forget… he would never forget, THAT WAS THANOS'S WARSHIP!!!
It turned out the spy Nebula hadn't just stood idle after slipping in. She had reset the time machine, bringing Thanos's entire warship over!
THE GREAT WAR HAD BEGUN—!
Endless calamity rained down from the warship like a storm. In an instant, the entire land was turned to ruins, with dark clouds and black smoke blotting out the sky. Thanos's figure slowly stepped off the warship.
"So, this is the future…" Thanos slowly took off his helmet and sat down. He waited, waiting for the Avengers to assemble!
Tony, Thor, and Steve stepped out of the ruins together, walking toward Thanos.
Looking at the three, Thanos let out a sneer, "You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me."
"I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you have shown me… that's impossible."
"As long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be."
"They will resist—" Thanos sat amidst the ruins, surrounded by billowing smoke and the crackling of burning fires.
He sighed with emotion, "I am grateful. Because now—"
"I know what I must do. I will shred this universe down to its last atom!"
Thanos had completely hardened his resolve!
He stood up, his giant-like body standing tall between heaven and earth. He slowly put his helmet back on, "And then, with the stones you've collected for me—"
"Create a new one, teeming with life, that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given!"
"A grateful universe, born of blood. They will never know it, because you won't be alive to tell them!"
As Thanos's words fell, the four instantly clashed in a fierce battle! 』
『 .....』
『 Viewers of Myriad Worlds 』
Good! Great! FANTASTIC!!!
Countless viewers were thrilled and boiling with excitement. Go for it, big purple-potato brother!
You must make this universe… truly full of vitality and hope!
What was wrong with Thanos?
He just wanted to truly save this universe. He had used the wrong method before, which was why he was stopped.
It was different now. Correcting one's mistakes when realized was exactly what a savior should do!
.....
『 Under the dark clouds blotting out the sky, Thanos fought three-on-one, beating the three to the point where they had no power to fight back!
Even with Steve holding the shield in his left hand and the hammer in his right, he still couldn't beat Thanos!
BANG—! BANG—! BANG—!
Under Thanos's frantic onslaught, Steve's shield was shattered!
Blood splattered, and Steve fell heavily to the ground. At this moment, Thanos's entire army had also arrived!
"…."
But even so, Steve stood up once again!
If you don't fight just because you can't win, THEN… WHAT KIND OF SUPERHERO ARE YOU!!!
But just as everyone was preparing for a desperate, final stand, a voice rang out in Steve's ear.
"Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?" Then, a sparkling portal appeared behind Steve.
Steve's chest heaved violently, tears welling up in his eyes!
Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man—
As countless portals opened, the entire battlefield was illuminated with brilliant light!
At this moment, ALL THE VANISHED SUPERHEROES HAD RETURNED!!! 』
『 .....』
『 Viewers of Myriad Worlds 』
…?!!
THIS IS SO HYPE!!!
Seeing this scene, countless viewers felt their scalps tingle. All the heroes returning together?!
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY MIND-BLOWING!!!
.....